Beliefs in society- ideology

Pluralist society

Pluralism is the view that power in society is spread amongst a wide range of interest groups. This suggests that not one social group claims monopoly of the truth. There are many different types of social groups with different ideologies that co exist alongside each other- none of them have dominant ideologies. However, pluralism itself claims to be the dominant ideology as it persuades others to accept the ideology. Pluralist ideology also denies that power is distributed unequally.

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Marxism ideology

Marxism is responsible for the political ideology of communism, it provides a partial way of seeing the world. Marxism focuses on the existence of a dominant ideology.
According to Marx, the capitalist class exploit the majority working class, which suggests that it's the workers' interest to overthrow capitalism. However this is prevented by reinforcing a ruling class ideology which is argued to justify the position of the ruling class, allowing the working class to gain a false class conscience. Neo Marxist Gramsci renames this process as hegemony. The ideology is dominant to such a extent that to some it is regarded as common sense, which is engrained into all areas of life.

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Patriarchal ideology

This ideology describes and tries to justify the position of men in a patriarchal society. Feminists argue that all dominant ideologies are patriarchal as they protect the interests of men rather than those of women

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Political ideology

Provides an interpretation of how society should work and how power should be used by governments to try and influence social policies. Political ideologies can be broad e.g. Capitalism, or they an be specific such as those held by political parties.